Mod Fashion

Innovative, creative, bold and brash. Sixties
fashion belonged to London, England. The Brits set the tone and the world
followed.

What we wear has always defined us to some degree. At the very
least, it can indicate economic status, but always before within certain
confines of convention. Historically, a uniformity of dress created a
homogeneous population.

The 1960s ushered in an attitude of "anything
goes" and reflected the shifting politics of the day. "Do your own thing"
applied to clothes as well.

The fashion revolution was youth oriented
and youth driven and began in the streets rather than the old line couture
houses. The Baby Boomers were coming of age.

The boutique clothing
store emerged in the 1960s as "the happening" place to shop. They were fun and
hip and young people felt more comfortable shopping there. No geography was
more famous for swinging boutiques than Carnaby Street and Kings Road in
London. Not to be left out of the trend, Paraphernalia opened in 1965 on
Madison Avenue in New York and was an instant smash.

Color played a big role in defining the
look. The muted and pastel palette of
Fifties fashions gave way to
bright, bold color often splayed in geometric patterns. From daywear to Day Glo
in less than a decade.

Art, usually Pop Art infiltrated fashion as works
of art translated from canvas into fabric. Below left, Yves St. Laurent's
interpretation of Pier Mondrian's rectangles.

A word about the word -
Mod. Mod for modern, which in its purest use meant minimalist. Arguably there
is nothing minimal about most Mod fashion, but that is the origin.

Mary Quant

Where a Victorian woman not only would cover her
own legs but those of her piano as well, a hundred years later in the Sixties
women exposed as much of her legs as her body shape permitted.

Some
controversy surrounds who invented the miniskirt, but Andre Courreges usually
gets the credit. Yet it was Mary Quant who popularized the swinging Sixties
look and edged the miniskirt to mainstream.

Miniskirt lengths tended to
vary by continent. In America the more conservative 4-5 inches above the knee
reigned but in London, 7-8 inches or more was considered hip.

Mary
Quant opened a boutique named Bazaar in Chelsea back in 1955. This is the
beginning of what would be called the "London Look." Her miniskirts and colored
tights challenged the fashion world to move in a new direction.

By
entering into an agreement with J.C. Penneys to do four collections a year,
from which these four pictures derive, she made mod fashions affordable and
available to the masses. Mary Quant is also responsible for hot pants and the
"Lolita" or baby doll look seen in the phot at the top of this
page.

From London, the mod look spread around the world's fashion
centers.

Below, Mary Quant having her hair done by stylist Vidal
Sassoon, who originated her hairdo, known as the bob, a short, angular
hairstyle cut on a horizontal plane. (See also
Hair Style)

Rudi Gernreich

Austrian Rudi Gernreich first came into public
view in 1964 with a daring topless swimsuit, not pictured here for obvious
reasons. The dress at left displays the 1960s fascination with cutouts and
vinyl, while the one at right is a wool maxi-dress, as they were
called.

The model is Peggy Moffit and she worked exclusively for
Gernreich in the 60s and 70s.There were also maxi-coats, a neccessity to
keep all the 1960s exposed legs warm!

Pierre Cardin

Along with Courreges, Pierre Cardin was known
for his "space age" styling. Born in Italy but relocated to Paris, he was also
famous for hoop dresses, asymmetrical styles and collarless jackets for
men.

Many in the Haute Couture world believed that Cardin sold out when
he turned his attention to the average buyer with a ready-to-wear line, and
then to branding of household items through licensing agreements. He was in
fact a pioneer whose merchandizing genius was imitated by all those who once
criticized.